


The Prince of Land and Sea

by MommaVanillaBear



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Brief Mention of Blood, Little Mermaid AU, M/M, Merman Lance, Merman Shiro, Voltron Fable exchange, brief character harm, human shiro, mentioned greek lore, non Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-23 20:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21087224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MommaVanillaBear/pseuds/MommaVanillaBear
Summary: In a world where men of the sea and land are separated by fear and hostility, a young prince of the sea breaks an age old rule and visits the surface in order to see what the colors that light up the sky are. Never in his wildest dreams did he think of doing such a thing, never did he dream of seeing a sailor- of talking to one!And perhaps in his moment of insanity he marked the other with a kiss that would connect both their hearts together with a red string that simply would not break.Perhaps the sailor didn't want the string to break.





	The Prince of Land and Sea

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to say, i tried to give this a 'fairy tale' feel, whilst giving it my own spin. It has been a little bit since i last wrote and wanted to do my very best. This is done for an exchange, and I hope you enjoy this, Brit.
> 
> I purposely kept some details out, because i feel in some fairy tales all that matter is true love and what is directly going on with the main couple. Either way i hope you all enjoy this and i apologize for any mistakes.

In the land of man there exists four kingdoms, each separated by their natural terrain. To the north was the kingdom of ice and snow, where those who lived there wore the skins and furs of beasts, their hearts as cold as the terrain they called home.To the south a kingdom where brutal heat scorched the land and fires were contained almost as if they were part of the kingdom itself, there the people wore loose clothing and were active mostly at night. To the kingdom of the west was luscious forests and warm breezes that always held a touch of heat from the kingdom to the south. Yet, the kingdom of the east, solitary and lovely was the one that held the most power over the seas. 

Though there were four kingdoms in the land of men, there existed only one, for the creatures of the sea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deep in the sea, safe from the touching of anchors and ship bottoms was a ledge; one that was just high enough in water that any whom sat upon it could look up and watch the surface of the water without fear of being caught, protected by the mighty depth of the water and the coverage the seagrass and coral offered. There was no real desire by many sea creatures to lay upon the ledge, most days nothing could be seen save for the reflections on the surface or the schools of fish that swam over head. Most creatures whom made their home in the ocean depths were content to spend their lives in the deeper depths, never caring to give the world above a second thought. 

Save for one, the beloved prince of the ocean kingdom, and son of Poseidon.

Prince Lance of the seven blessed seas.

The merman was beautiful, even amongst his own people he was considered one of the loveliest with skin warm and smooth the color of toffee and scales a wide array of blues and whites. They created a gradient of deep blues at the bottom that grew lighter the further it went up his tails, an occasional darker patch being seen where it did not belong in order to break up the gradient. The scales that rested in patches on his belly and arms were translucent white with flecks of sky blue if one were to look at his cheeks closely they would see the translucent scales splotched on his skin like freckles. However, it was his eyes that had many in the kingdom unable to look away when they were in his presence. His eyes were a deep, oceanic blue, wide and curious with a sparkle that refused to dim. His lips soft and hair a deep chestnut that flowed in lockes that went to his shoulders, choppy yet luscious. The merman’s name was Lance, son of Poseidon, and the one who’s voice could calm even the most beastly of sharks. 

The prince did not get to leave the castle often, mostly sneaking out when his father and the guards were busy or when he could get his usual attendant to cover for him. The prince, loved his father and kingdom fiercely, it just wasn’t where he wanted to always be. He wanted to explore, to see the world with new eyes, not be trapped within walls. The seas were large and mysterious as was the world above. He wanted to see it all.

When Lance was younger, when his mother was still allowed freedom to leave the palace, she had always brought him to her favorite ledge, still under the water, but when they laid back they could see the surface, watch the ships go by and hear the music and laughter of sailors and even canons of pirates. She told her son in all forms of stories, bringing delight to him whenever she would exaggerate or create her own tales of what she thought the sailors were doing. They never ventured up further however, and when his mother was caught by his father she stopped going there all together, but Lance continued. He and his royal attendant, a shy flounder of a merman named Hunk, would swim up to the ledge and Lance would tell the other merman about the ships. He made up his own stories, always keeping the fear factors to a minimum or else he feared Hunk would swim all the way back to the palace crying that pirates would invade.

The night was young, and Lance found himself alone as he laid on the ledge, watching a ship go by lazily, he had come to the assumption that they were merchants for every once in a great while they would drop a trinket, and each time they sunk into the ocean he would grab them, inspecting the gold and silver trinkets and jewelry, always hiding them until he could place them in his room where he made his nest of a bed. A nest was sacred, none, not even his powerful father would dare break the sanctuary of his nest to look into it. 

Laying on his back with his arms behind his head to cradle he watched a particularly slow ship sail by, stopping nearly completely whilst an anchor sunk down to keep it in place. Lance had seen anchors before, but never one that stopped in his part of the ocean. He wondered why. It was already getting dark, he knew that the glowing corals would start to shine and that he would need to be home for dinner soon, but he just couldn’t look away when he saw a sudden burst of color light over water, vanishing as if it never was there. He watched it happen several more times before he pushed up from his rock, swimming up to investigate. He wouldn’t go too far, but he had to see. No, he  _ needed  _ to see what was going. 

What made those vibrant colors? 

Where did they go?

Further up he swam, startled by a flash of red and green before he finally steeled his resolve to pop his head up above the surface, he would be careful, he would remain hidden, but he needed to see. He had to see what the human world was like, just once, and then his curiosity would be sated. With a gasp Lance’s head broke up from the water, his eyes wide as he looked around, finding he could breath unlike his fears had told him. He gazed all around him, he could see the sea go on endlessly in every direction, the ship he hid in the shadow of was larger than even his dreams. Large and rough to the touch when he placed his hand upon the side. The skies lit up once more in colors followed by a bang and a fizzle. Lance nearly drove back under the water again before he watched the colors dance across the sky, falling as if to kiss the oceans waves. He could hear laughter from the ship, hear voices congratulating, some words he could not understand, but it sounded like they were celebrating someone. It was then that he heard a voice say clearly.

“Happy Birthday Prince Takashi, and may your days be blessed with the watchful eyes of the god Poseidon and your ship stay on course.”

The merman’s eyes rolled, his father would rather watch the sailors drown before helping them, but still, he couldn’t understand why. The colors that came from the bangs were beautiful and their music was even more thrilling with various sounds and voices! They were all so funny with how some were low and some were high in pitch! How could his father hate this?

A figure leant against the railing, tall from the looks of it, Lance swam out just a bit to get a better look at the laughing sailor. He spied hair as black as ink and pale skin, he could not make much of his face, his eyes shadowed and a streak of something marked the middle of his face, but Lance could sense that the man was handsome, his voice at least was when he spoke.

“Thank you Coran. It has been another fine year, and soon, when it is my turn to take the throne I hope to achieve even higher dreams than my father’s ambitions could meet.” The man, whom Lance pieced together was Takashi, motioned the others on the deck for him to simply be, wanting to enjoy the night air whilst the last of the fireworks shot up and lit up the darkening sky.

The prince remained on deck even after the fireworks ended and his companions had gone under to drink and celebrate, his head resting on his crossing arms. He gazed up at the stars, watching them twinkle and wake up across the sky, he gazed into the water and for a moment thought the night was playing tricks on him, but he could see the outline of a head and shoulders. He did not stop and think as he called out to the man below, already shucking off his boots and gray tunic like shirt before diving into the water without thought or care of his safety. The prince knew he was not swayed by ale, no, he knew he had seen a body down there!

When he had jumped overboard and the water submerged him he could feel the chill that the sun of the day could never quite warm away. He blinked and gasped, looking around, finally finding the other he had jumped down to save. The other had not appeared to have expected him to jump, simply gazing at him with large eyes and mouth opened in surprised. Takashi could see that the overboard male was not one of his sailors, he had never seen the man before- he would remember such breathtaking eyes and warm tanned skin. He swam closer, urging the other not to swim away from him, stopping when he saw the patches of scales on his neck. 

“You’re not a sailor are you?” He says though he knows the answer, taking in further the appearance of pointed ears, “No wait! Don’t go, i- I didn’t mean offense, I’ve just…never seen someone like you before, I was told you were all fairy tales, unless this is a dream…but it feels too real to be a dream.”

“You weren’t supposed to see me….” Lance whispered, eyes wide, feeling like a guppy trapped in front of a shark. “You weren’t- this is bad, oh if daddy finds out-“

“Wait, don’t go- I won’t tell anyone- I- this has to be a dream.” Takashi spoke to himself, looking stunned when the other splashed him in the face with the ocean water. “Ok- okay, not a dream. But how- how can you be here, you don’t exist!”

Another splash of water was the prince’s answer as Lance brought his tail up to be seen, lips pouting and eyes narrowed. “I do exist! You sailors just don’t see us… oh daddy is going to be so mad- I need to go, I’m breaking so many rules!”

“Please don’t go!” Takashi blurted, reaching out to take hold of one of Lance’s scaled wrists, amazing by how cold his skin felt but how soft it was soft and smooth like glass. “I- what’s your name? This is incredible, please, will you at least tell me your name?”

Lance gazed into the eyes of the human, seeing his eyes clearly for the first time, they are warm and gray, deep, as if looking into his very core. He felt naked for the first time in his life, powerless but to gaze at him and move closer as if tugged forward by an invisible string. The human prince was warm,a perfect contrast against his cold when he reached forward to hesitantly touch the man’s face, his skin was different. Rough and warm yet somehow soft, a patch of skin covering from one side of his face to the other was maroonish in color compared to the rest of the man’s. Prince Takashi’s hair felt weightless where his own felt a bit heavy. He felt no scales though he knew not to expect any, his head tilting, weighing the prince’s humble request. A name wouldn’t hurt.

“It’s Lance… Prince Lance, son of Poseidon.” Lance spoke, watching the prince of land gaze at him with wonderment. “And- what is your name?”

“My name is Prince Shirogane Takashi, heir to the throne of the eastern kingdom.” Takashi allowed the other to continue touching him, amazed that all this was happening, that all this was real! He had never seen anyone like Lance before and yet he felt as if he had been searching his whole life for the other. Someone as different as him. Why did his heart skip a beat when Lance spoke? Why did he want to sink down to the ocean floor and stay by the merman’s side? Was he actually a siren? And if so, why wasn’t he being drowned and eaten? “Would it be terrible for me to say I want to see you again? To talk more?”

“Only…only if it’s terrible that I want to see you again. But I need to go- oh this has been a dream come true to see a real sailor! But daddy will be wondering where I am-“

“Takashi? Takashi my boy where are you?!”

The voice called from upon the ship, Lance’s eyes widened in panic, it was insane, he shouldn’t have been there, oh but talking to a real sailor was beyond his wildest dreams! He could see the silhouette of another sailor leaning upon the railing as if trying to locate the prince. It was foolish, he knew not why he did it, only that it felt right. He pushed himself forward to press a kiss upon the human prince’s lips, his own cheeks as dark as the coral below. “I hope- I hope to see you again.”

Lance was gone before Takashi could gather his wits about him, leaving him alone in the water looking up at his ginger haired attendant with an awkward smile on his lips, he could still feel the cool lips upon his own.

“Er, hello Coran, nice night for a swim?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lance swam as fast as he could, led by the lights of the corals and starfish back to his palace window where he could slip in the opening and try to calm his beating heart. A jolt of excitement washed over him as he felt the warmth against his lips soon. He had heard so many stories from his parents and attendants growing up. His father and nannies always spoke of sailors being greedy, nasty and cruel, taking more than the world could give, and then there was his mother, telling him how the humans could be just like them, loving, and passionate and caring. It had always meshed poorly in his mind, how could those two sides be on the same sand dollar?

And the prince he met, he could have grabbed one of the awful things called a net and had dragged him upon the ship, could have taken him far away, and yet, he had only been in the water to make sure he wasn’t a drowning sailor. The prince hadn’t attacked him or tried to cause harm, he just wanted to know his name!

Slinking down into his nest of soft seaweed, shells and flowers Lance brought his tail up enough for hims arms to wrap around himself, cheeks heating up as his eyes closed. He would never deny the fact that the prince he saw, even being human, was the most handsome of any he had ever seen of creatures, not even his own kind could make his heart beat so fast, and the kiss! Oh he could feel sparks in his tail and his fingers moving to run through his hair. He was so warm and soft and Lance wished he could have wrapped around him, to feel that warmth chase away the chill of his body.

Lance toyed with a lock of his own hair, thinking of the prince’s eyes, they were so handsome, the color something he had never seen before in the eyes of his own kind.

The door to Lance’s bed chambers opened slowly, he was aware of it by the light in the hallway slipping in, the form of his friend Hunk swimming in whilst using his tail to shut the door.

“Lance! There you are, do you know how hard it was to keep your father and mother from knowing you were gone? I nearly broke under the pressure!” Hunk’s voice was soft to keep others from hearing, but frantic in tone, he swam over to take a seat in Lance’s nest, watching the other as if something new had happened. He couldn’t explain it, but Lance did appear…different. “I’m just glad you're back, if you aren’t at dinner tonight I don’t know what I would tell them.”

“I’m sorry Hunk I didn’t mean to cause you trouble. I was just preoccupied and lost track of time.” Lance spoke, dreamily and soft, moving to lay against his bestfriends chest. “Hunk, I need you to keep a secret, please , you must promise me you will keep it.”

Hunk visibly shifted but nodded none the less, his fingers stroking through his bestfriends hair. “Yeah okay, tell me.”

“Well you know how I went to the ledge tonight? Well…oh gods above please don’t tell, well, I was thinking about heading back home but I saw a ship. The ship wasn’t what drew my attention to stay. It was the colors! Colors in reds and blues and greens! It lit up the surface of the water! Hunk it was amazing!”

“I don’t like where this is going…”

“Well, I swam up to see it-“

“Lance please…”

“And I was able to stay hidden for a bit to watch it, but Hunk I met a human! I spoke to a real human prince! He had the handsome eyes and was warm! And he…he was gorgeous…” Lance ended the tirade with his hands covering his face, his cheeks nearly scarlet. He knew Hunk was opening and closing his mouth but no words came, the flounder too stunned. It was a good several minutes before he spoke.

“Are you insane?! You went up to the surface  _ and  _ talked to one of those things?!” Lance’s hand was quick to cover his mouth, glaring.

“Not so loud, do you want my father to hear you? And they aren’t things, he was very nice, didn’t try to capture me or anything, we just exchanged names and…and I kissed him.” Lance licked his lips at the memory. “I don’t know why I kissed him, it just felt right…please Hunk, swear to me you won’t tell anyone.”

Hunk looked to be in the midst of panic, on the one hand he saw Lance as his very best friend, hell even a clutch brother, but at the same time, he had broken a rule so ancient that Hunk felt just by knowing about it his family would suffer should the king feel so inclined to punish.

“I won't… I won’t tell anyone, but Lance you can’t do this again, it’s not right, the king has made his rules for a reason, and I don’t I don’t want Momma or my Pa to get hurt because I allowed it to happen, please Lance, promise me you won’t do it again.”

Lance’s smile was sad as he moved up to press a kiss to Hunk’s forehead. “I promise your family will be okay.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The prince’s bedchambers was quiet, the light from the fireplace keeping the ro0m comfortably warm and just bright enough for the prince to lay in his bed without needing to worry about the dark as he read from the book he held. He sighed as he touched his lips. He was still in shock, and yet, he couldn’t bring himself to believe the other had been a figment of his imagination. Lance…the name was alluring as was the merman himself. And his lips, so soft and cool. He sighed, hearing the door to his chambers open, the man who practically raised him entered with two mugs of warm milk, taking his seat at the foot of Takashi’s bed, handing the mug to him.

“Would you like to tell me now that we are alone why you were in the water tonight? Or shall I keep with the thought that you had simply lost your wits?” Coran asked, sipping his own mug, eyes searching the prince’s face, grinning when he saw the resolve slowly crumble.

“You wouldn’t believe me even If I told you, or think me mad.” Takashi sighed, looking into his mug wishing it could save him from having to explain more. When he saw Coran encouraging him to continue he began to speak. “I thought I saw someone overboard, thought maybe one of our men got too much rum, maybe we didn’t hear him fall over. I thought maybe it was a trick but it didn’t go away, so…I jumped over the railing, I know it was foolish but I just had to see!”

“And what did you find?” Coran hummed.

“You would never believe me.”:

“Try me.”

Takashi sighed, moving his legs to sit cross legged on his bed, hands holding the mug to warm them, remembering the oceans chill. “There was a man in the water, but he…he wasn’t a man of the land, it was a merman with breathtaking eyes and the tail of a fish- please believe me, I am not lying! I saw him, we spoke, he told me his name was Lance.” He couldn’t bring himself to look at the other, shaking his head. “I’m not mad, I swear it.”

“Oh I don’t believe you are mad, my boy, for I know the men of sea exist.” Coran spoke, leaning closer to gently hold onto one of Takashi’s hands. “I have seen several in my life, they think they’re clever and can hide, but they’re not always good at it. But tell me more about this one, it’s very rare that they talk to our kind.”

“He said his name was Lance, that he was prince- his eyes were like the ocean depths and he was chilled to the touch but full of life and very…”

“Beautiful?” Coran teased. “They truly are.”

“We kissed... well he kissed me.”

Coran nearly dropped his mug. “He- he kissed you?”

Takashi appeared puzzled, hee had never seen Coran’s eyes so wide before nor has the man ever asked such a reiterating question, he was always such a good listener. “Well, yeah, he kissed me, I know it’s just in my head but I feel as if I can still feel it sometimes.” He laughed softly, nervously. “Why?”

“Well, it is an old wives tale, but, those kissed by a person of the sea,are whispered to have been marked as one to claim.” Coran did not let the prince interrupt him, simply moving his hand to stop him. “It’s an old tale, that long ago, before the kingdoms were separated there was only one, in which all came from. There were five daughters, each as lovely as their mother. The four eldest were married off to begin the new kingdoms. The youngest however remained to do what she pleased. She decided to go out to the ocean shore to paint as was her hobby, and it is said she met a woman of the sea who sung to her sweetly as she painted. The woman of the sea visited the princess every afternoon, many secrets and giggles shared between them. When the king decided to tell the daughter of her arranged marriage the princess fled to the beach for comfort from her visitor. However, they shared a single kiss and the princess was said to have been marked. She continued to go to the seashore up to the day of her arranged marriage, She never made it to her wedding. Her painting was found of the mermaid, and given how much they searched for her they concluded that she had been whisked away. They never did find her.”

Takashi’s eyes were wide, he felt his heartbeat speed up, he had never been told that tale before, and though he had only met the merperson once- hell he hadn’t a real full conversation with him- he couldn’t help but to think it might not be so bad to be whisked away, to be free of his responsibilities, to let his brother take the throne after so long of him being pushed aside. Kuro could easily replace him, none would know. But he wouldn’t be whisked away, no that was just a fairy tale, he wasn’t important enough for something like that.

“You are unhappy here, I have seen it in your eyes since you were old enough to understand your role in the kingdom.” Coran’s head hook. “I will not tell you what path to walk, however, if you see him again and feel the urge to swim the seas and be free of human turmoil then I shan't stop you, however I would expect a visit to the shoreline once in a while.” Coran chuckled, ever the eccentric man, perhaps that's why Takashi loved talking to him. The man saw the world in vibrant colors and full of potential unlike the rest of the family and guards who saw the world in black and white, miserable and dreadfully boring.

“I may not even get the chance to ever see him again, I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Besides, why would someone who could literally have anyone in the sea want me?” Takashi sighed, rubbing the birthmark that ran over his nose, it marred his face an almost maroon line whilst his brother was flawless, why would anyone want him?

“My prince, drink the rest of your milk and try to sleep, you are worth more than you think and I know, you will be happy soon.”

Takashi sighed, sipping the lukewarm milk. It always helped him. “Good night Coran, and thank you for a splendid Birthday.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How long had it been since the night he had met the prince of the land? Lance had been good, spending time with his father and helping his mother, never once remarking about the sailor he saw, never even hinting he was out of the castle. He was good, obedient and charmed even his father several times to smile despite his demeanor. Each night he laid in his nest, thinking back to the prince with the birthmark on his face and the birthmark on his arm. The prince of the land was just so…new. He kept telling himself it was only an obsession, not real interest, It has happened to him before, where he would fixated on one thing, but the more he thought about the man, the more he wanted to get to know him. To learn about his kind and the world above. Wanted to show him his own world. To make that handsome face smile. Oh lords above he had been hit by cupid's arrow.

Each day that passed Lance only wanted to see him more. He tried everything to keep his thoughts away; all attempt was for not as the sixth day came and he found himself unable to stay away from his ledge. With a hasty greeting to his father and the quick words of ‘going for a swim’ shouted over his shoulder he was gone in a splash of bubbles. The ledge wasn’t too far from the palace, a brisk fifteen minute swim if he kept going forward and not stopping for distractions. He knew that the prince wouldn’t be there- why would he come back? He probably thought this all a dream, but Lance’s heart tugged in his chest to go. Lance swam swiftly up to the ledge of his private spot, there was nothing particularly unique about the spot. The sand that was on the jutting rock was just as white and soft as the ocean floor, and the sea grass and flowers that grew weren’t particularly rare or beautiful, but the view of the surface was lovely in his opinion, giving him the ability to see the passing ships and surface skimming fish with ease.

Lance swam to the patch of grass in the middle of the rock ledge, sighing as his back brushed against the familiar soft grass and laid with his eyes closed for a bit, allowing himself to simply breath, feeling his heartbeat at what felt the most even paced for the first time within the past few days. He could feel the grass tickle his fins and tail. He felt a few small fish swim past, never paying them any mind as they never bothered him. He crossed his arms behind his head and sighed, making small bubbles with his lips; Opening a single eye he saw the light of the sun shimmer and dance against the ocean's surface, he remembered the colors he had seen, they were so beautiful, he wished he could see more.

A ship was seen not too long after he began to drift, the shadow falling over him had him sitting up to gaze at it curiously . It was nowhere near as large as the one he had seen that night, reminding Lance of a boat he fund once sunken on the seafloor that could only hold two sailors. He wondered what it was doing by itself. He saw no nets or hooks to show it was there to hunt, but still…

He felt his heart ache at the sight, he wanted to go up, he really shouldn’t but oh he wanted to!

If it was another human, surely they would think him a trick of their imagination if they caught sight of him, or perhaps think him a siren and leave, surely that would make it so they don’t come again to his waters. With his resolve steeled Lance swam up to the surface, his blood pounding in his ears, his hands twitching. He felt the surface just inches away, a near silent gasp escaping him when he breached, eyes blinking to adjust before he moved further up to see whom the sailor was. Squinting due to the sun light he felt himself perk up at the voice that spoke to him.

“Lance? Is that you?”

“You came.” The merman whispered, moving to the edge of the boat, leaning on the side to peer in. He saw no nets or traps of any kind, only what he assumed was a basket of food and supplies in case the water was rough. “I didn’t think I would actually see you again.”

“I couldn’ stay away.” The prince of the land admitted, moving to offset the weight that was added to the ship when Lance leant hung over the edge. “Coran urged me to come see you, to make the ache in my heart stop.”

The merman tilted his head at the name, unsure as to whom it was, was he supposed to know him?

“Coan is my advisor, he has been taking care of me ever since I was a young boy. He’s very knowledgeable on things others might ind foolish, he told me an old wives tale about merfolk.” Takashi confessed, swallowing when he saw the way the other tilted his head to rest his cheek against his arms, The merman was even more radiant than the first time he saw in him the dark, his scales from what he could see shimmered in the light of the day. The boat rocked as Takashi moved closer, his birthmark marred hand reaching out to stroke Lance’s hair, he had expected it to feel coarse from the salt water, pleasantly surprised at how it was soft, damp of course, but felt silky as he stroked his fingers through the locks. “My father once told me stories about the men of the sea who would lure sailors to their deaths. You could have drowned me that night, but you didn’t. You- you marked me.”

Blue eyes widened, Lance had heard of the mark before, it was an old tale his mother had told him when he was younger, about how the greatest queen whom ever lived found her bride, but he didn’t know- he didn’t know he actually marked the other! 

Did the other hate him? 

Would the other kill him to rid himself of the invisible branding that marked his heart?

The prince of the land showed no hostility about it, made no movement to find something to rid him of the other, merely sat there with his hand idly stroking Lance’s hair and pointed ears, brows furrowed in thought.

“All my life, I have never felt that I belonged to the world of man.” Takashi admitted, voice soft as the ocean breeze. “Maybe, if you’ll keep me, maybe I could find my home with you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

One meeting had turned to two, soon to three and more; it felt like everyday the prince of the sea found himself swimming to the surface to speak more to the prince of the land. His heart swelled each time they talked, each time their hands brushed or their cheeks nuzzled in stolen kisses. Lance told not a single soul of his rendezvous. It was thrilling,exciting to be able to talk to the other, learning more about the world of man than he ever thought possible. It all sounded so amazing, the inventions they made, the various climates, and in return he told Takashi all about the sea. Takashi never made him feel different, a connection forming between the two of them that made his heart ache when he was forced to head home. On the night he was told that Takashi was going to be forced to marry someone he didn’t know Lance begged him to not go, begged for him to stay. When the prince of the land whispered he had to go he begged that he would come back the next day. Lance felt his heart shattering as he dipped back into the water, tears flowing heavy..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lance knew he was desperate when he headed from the castle late that night, the corals and glow glass barely lighting up the way to where he knew the once acclaimed sea witch would be, it was foolish, risky, she was known for her deals and her cruelty, but he wanted help, knew she was the only one in all the seas that could help him. He would never be able to tell another soul about what he was going to do. Not even Hunk his best friend and practical brother..

The witch’s cave was much farther than he had thought, he swam through patches of dead coral and over the remains of sailors and sunken ships in order to find her cave.When he had approached the coral that grew by the entrance lost their lights, leaving him to tremble in front of the inky entrance of her home. One by one he could see two golden eyes open, staring at him whilst a face, blue skinned with red blood like trails on her face glowed, the rest of her concealed, teeth flashing mangled and yellow in the darkness whilst she smiled viciously down upon him.

“The son of Poseidon, oh what a sight.” She rasped, licking her teeth, eyes narrowed in interest. “Why are you here, child, surely your precious daddy doesn’t know you left, or he would be sending the guards to drag you back.” Her laughter was raspy, head tilting in interest, a clawed hand, mangled and boney stroked her chin.

“Lady Haggar, witch of the sea, the oldest soul who can help me, please, hear my plea. I have claimed the heart of a man from the surface world, a prince of the land but he is destined for a marriage his heart Is not in, please, our great queen long ago claimed a human to be her beloved, how- how can I bring him here to be mine?! Please, I’ll do just about anything.” Lance pleaded, feeling his body shiver when those teeth flashed again in a sickening smile. “If anyone were to know of such a way, surely it would be you! You whom guided the queen long ago. Please grant unto me the forbidden knowledge!”

“Oh little prince, for you to do this would bring great pain and anger to your father. To know his son has lied about where he was going, to know his son would never marry another royal. For this, I shall help you with. For the great king,” She spat the words, “had wronged me many a time, and for his punishment I shall steal away his son. So that he may know that despite banishing me, that my hold over him is still there.Yes, little prince, I will tell you how to claim your prince from above, and in return, leave. Leave the old man to stew in his misery for one year. Do not head back to the castle, let his anguish be known to the sea! Let his heart break and let him search for you, let him ache to his very core!”

It broke Lance’s heart to hear, he would be hurting more than just his father, but…

“Please tell me what I need to do.”

And the great witch of the sea told him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The morning rays were just breaching the sea depths, Lance had slept restlessly once he had left the witch’s cave, in offering of gratitude he had hunted her a most large fish, the woman had been taken aback by such kindness. Offering blessing on him, she did not say what it was, but Lance felt a warmth inside him, something new and strange, but it caused no pain. Lance sat up slowly, his hands resting gently on his tail, he could already feel the pang in his heart, he had already begun to miss the kingdom already but knew that this was what he needed to do.

Hw sat for what felt like hours until he saw the shadow of a boat go by. It stopped, as always and he swam up cautiously until he peered up to see the face of the prince he fell for smiling sadly back at him.

“Good morning, Lance.” He whispered, reaching out to stroke Lance’s hair, fingers caressing his cheeks. “I am sorry my beloved, tomorrow…they demand I marry the princess of the north.”

Lance felt his heart stop, his blood freeze. He shook his head, nearly growling as he took hold of his hand that stroked his hair. Lance’s eyes were narrowed, his displeasure shown. “No- No! She can not have you, you are mine! I- I claimed you!”

“I know, but Lance how can i-?” His words were stopped as scaled hands took hold of his cheeks, thumbs brushing under his eyes, his forehead pressed to Takashi’s. Lance’s breath was cool, shuddering against the man's lips, his eyes full of tears.

“Please, my love, I can not bare to lose you. I have marked you, now please, let me claim you.”

Takashi’s eyes were imploring, his hands taking hold of Lance’s wrists, his lips pressed to the fingertips. “You may claim me.”

Lance did not know how to claim, it was something Haggar had told him he would ‘feel’. Looking to the prince he felt his hands relaxed, felt his own teeth nipping into his bottom lip, breaking the skin after effort in order to get his blue blood to drip. Leaning forward Lance bit down upon the prince’s lip before he could protest, the prince hissing at the needle like bite. Lance however did not pull back, keeping Takashi close to him as he pressed his bleeding lip against Takashi’s own, hands clutching at his hair. The thoughts in his head became a single word.

_ Mine… _

_ Mine… _

_ _ ** _ MINE!_ **

Lance felt the the other prince freeze, he did not break the kiss for quite some time, needing their blood to mix. He could feel hands slipping where Takashi had been holding him, there was no struggle, the prince’s body having gone slack. Lance’s heart stopped at feeling the slack, watching as the prince of the land fell back, eyes open and mouth parted, bleeding but otherwise still. Color drained from Takashi’s skin, and Lance could see that his heart was stopped. A jolt of fear washed through him, panic swelling, he reached out and even the prince’s hand felt chilled.

“No- no- no!” Lance sobbed, pulling on the prince, tears collecting before sliding down his cheeks hot and heavy. “No! You can’t- you can’t be gone! She lied- she lied to me!”

The prince did not respond, Lance’s shoulders shook as his tears fell, he knew from him holding him so close that the tears would soon be soaking the man’s shirt, but he didn’t care- his beloved was dead and it was his fault!

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry, how could I be so selfish, I’m sorry.” Lance’s spbs shook him, his face pressing to Takashi’s chest as he clutched him. He felt the prince’s body shudder, a gasp tearing from the other. With eyes wide Lance pulled back to gaze at him, Shiro’s eyes were glossy but his hands were brought up to stroke at Lance’s cheeks, lips twitching. He could see scales, dark and near violet forming over Shiro’s nose where his birthmark had been, but he also saw the way his lips were turning blue, a clear sign he needed water and fast. Without thinking he pulled the other overboard with him, clutching onto the other as he moved down below the surface, enough to submerge them both.

Lance brought him down further, watching in silent awe as the prince of the lands body began to change, where the birthmark had been on his arm was now dark black and magenta scales that grew in thick patches, covering his arm up to the elbow where they proceeded to translucent white and up to his shoulder. Ears, once human rounded now grew to more pointed tips, Lance’s fingers tore at the fabric of clothing that Takashi had been wearing, having seen the sides rip he was able to help, tugging them off and averting his eyes to offer the other a moment of modesty as the legs fused, becoming a tail that would match the same scales as his arm however being much longer and larger than Lance’s own. Takashi’s cry of pain was choked out, the bones of his legs being broken and reformed to make his tail, leaving him breathless and gasping. As the changes were seemingly finished Lance watched for signs of the prince awakening, and yet he saw none. He knew not what to do, only that he could not let anyone see them. Taking hold of him the best he could Lance brought him down deeper into the depths were he knew an old sunken ship was, free from wandering eyes, only things down there were the occasional small fish or sea star. 

The ship offered shelter to them, the once mighty ship now laid as a reminder of man's greed, with gold still scattered on the old decks and bones of the sailors cleaned of meat from the fish. Lance swam to a room that had once belonged to a captain, or so he assumed based on the comforts the man must have lived with. The once beautiful desk and bed were little more than bloated wood and fabric, but still Lance made a nest of sots with the sea weeds and grass he found, bringing forth scraps of blankets from around the ship. He laid Takashi to rest, holding him whilst the other remained in a sleep like state. He knew not if the other would awaken, but he could not think such thoughts now. He held the other close and let his tears fall as he cried for the one he had come and the one he feared would never awaken.

“-ance? Lance?” The words came out shaky, but the prince of land- the once prince of the land, sat up slowly, shaky as he looked around them, Everything felt...off. Takashi knew he was breathing, knew he was safe with the other; when he brought a hand up to his hair he stilled at the sight of scales. He looked around the room they were in again and slowly down his arms and chest, stilling when he looked at the tail that laid where his legs should be. It was all so strange, he moved in how he remembered curling his toes would feel like, but in return his fins at the end of his tail simply wiggled. He looked over to Lance, seeing the other in a new way, he couldn’t explain it, but down in the water - he appeared even more beautiful than when he had seen him on the surface. 

Lance had really claimed him. 

He didn’t know what his family would say, would they even notice he was missing? Would they think of him fondly?

He didn’t know, but taking Lance’s hand he didn’t care as he kissed the knuckles that no longer felt cold. They felt warm, just like the rest of him as he kissed him gently, laughing at the absurdity of it all.

“You’re awake! Oh gods above you’re awake! I had been so scared!” Lance pressed kiss after kiss to Takashi’s cheeks and lips, holding him tightly. ”It worked, oh it worked!” 

Takashi smiled, appearing dazed as he laid his head on Lance’s lap, gazing at the other whilst scaled fingers reached up to stroke through the soft hair. “This is real...it should feel like a dream, yet this is the most i have felt awake in years. I feel...alive.”

“I never thought I would have someone like you, someone who makes my heart beat fast and my cheeks glow...and now you’re here.” Lance cooed, trilling softly as he intertwined his fingers with Takashi’s own, kissing them softly. “I wish I could say I knew where we are to go.” 

“Don’t you have a home?” Takashi asked, feeling his cheeks color in embarrassment when Lance looked away sadly. “No- wait, i didn’t mean it that way!”

Lance’s head shook, his brows furrowed. “No, no it's not you. I do, but i didn’t know how else to claim you, and the thought of seeing you with another it was breaking my heart.”

“What did you have to give up?” Takashi whispered softly.

“I went to the sea witch, Haggar, a woman once known in my kingdom for her magic and skill. She was outcasted long ago for trying to overthrow my father- even knowing that i went to her, I knew if anyone knows how to claim you, it would be her. In return, I promised her I would stay away from my kingdom for a full year. I don’t know where to go, oh how selfish I am!” He trembled, hugging himself.

Moving, albeit shakily, Takashi rested on his front so that he could face the other; he took Lance’s hands and kissed his chin. “Hey, listen to me, you’re not selfish. I could have refused, I wanted to be claimed. I don't know how we would have broken it if it was otherwise- but if this wasn’t something I wanted I would have told you.” Takashi shook his head. “But that’s not what happened. I don't know where we will live or how we’ll do it, hell i’m not sure how long it’ll take me to swim with this thing,” he motioned to his tail. “But what I do know is that i won’t leave your side. Wherever you go, I shall go. And wherever that is, will be home. I feel as though I have been searching for a home all my life, I want us to find one. Together.”

Lance felt foolish as tears began to fall once more, his arms wrapping around the other as he held him close, kissing him deeply, he couldn’t help but think about the moment, too afraid to think about the future. There would be time for the happily ever after later.

All he wanted was to feel this moment.


End file.
